Project: Art-Punk-Deco All in one.
Proposal:
All in one PC unit – Art-punk-deco
Specs:
1 LCD screen
1 dual core 3Gig Pentium 4 processor.
Shuttle Mobo (two PCI slots, one with the modem in)
DVD RW drive
40Gig HDD
256 DDR RAM
FDD
56k Modem PCI card
200Watt Shuttle PSU
To be added:
Bells and whistles
Another 256DDR RAM
Some sort of Graphics PCI card
Another HDD (preferably ‘external’ for flexibility)
Replace 200Watt shuttle PSU with standard 300Watt
Criteria:
Function – I mostly use it for web surfing, coding and 3d modelling. The last is the critical one. I’m currently getting glitching and slowdown when working with large rendered models. I’m hoping the extra RAM and/or the Graphics card should help a bit.
Size – the intention is to reduce the footprint on my desk, currently the Shuttle and the screen. I hope to get everything into the space the screen and it’s stand currently take up while still aiming for a lightweight and open appearance.
Noise – design out where possible. There’s normally a fairly high ambient background noise (music, radio, dual carriageway ect.) so silence is not required. Soft felt on the inside of the case and carefully placed fan vents should help minimise noise at minimal cost.
Cooling – Probably active air-cooled. Water-cooling or oil baths do bring geek points with them but also add to the complexity, weight and risk. That said, a passive water pipe loop or two is very tempting.
Theme- Art-punk-deco. Steampunk often means Victorians/Industrial Revolution plus magic. Post Industrialisation Europe descended into factions before WWI. Art-deco was an exuberant reaction to the privatations of the War. I don’t think adding fairies to the mix would change that much.
The Sunburst, Ziggurat, and Angel motifs will probably figure. Art-deco materials range from the wood and brass of steampunk to the forerunners of Machine Age Streamlining; aluminium foil, steel and Bakelite.
Bells and whistles – Apart from trying to improve my PC’s performance slightly, there’s a few second class missions. Size and Noise reduction have already been mentioned.
Plug reduction would be good too. Clearly (fuses permitting) I can splice the 240volt power cord of the screen into the Mains lead of the PSU removing one extraneous plug. If I can provide a small socket to charge my phone off then great (either a 3.5mm jack into the computer with a wire going to the phone or a little enclave with a ‘set down’ charger would do. I haven’t changed my phone for a few years and only then because I’d left it in Singapore.)
This brings me neatly to the idea of peripherals.
Mouse and keyboard obviously would need a face lift. I normally slot the keyboard away when I need the desk but the mouse stays out. A rollerball one would be great but I’ve not yet investigated how to turn an optical mouse into a rollerball. It vill be possible!).
Speakers I’d hope to integrate into the case, possibly on slide outs. This helps keep it compact when not in use and provides more space for air when running. I’ve an idea for how to automate this. Gears may be involved. Plug reduction a bonus.
Headphones, mic and USB sticks would get a facelift treatment too. Calculator too for the overall effect, and the mobile if it’s going to be sitting there to charge.
If I get an external HDD (facelifted of course) I’d aim to have it mounted inside the case but easily accessible. Could I accomplish that with a normal one? They’re much cheaper.
Incorporating a small lamp for the keyboard (either on the keyboard or the base would be cool
BUDGET – big scary capitals for a big scary word. The short answer is none. The long answer is minimal. The tech upgrades are clearly dependant. If I can get away without a new powersupply then I will. If I can get away without either the graphics card or the RAM I will. I don’t ‘need’ the processing upgrade or the extra memory but they’d be extremely useful. Mostly though, I don’t want an anodyne silver box and screen dominating my room.
I’ve plenty of wood for most of the case and intend to experiment with Galvanic etching to produce some nicely ornate meshes for safety (brass) and possible radiators (copper). I’ve the stainless steel printblock section of an old typewriter I’d love to incorporate as a heatsink somewhere. I know It’s a poor material but hey, it’s gorgeous.
Verk.
The initial aim is to fit all within a 180mm by 360mm footprint rising up to 378mm high. This places the centre of the screen at my eye level.
Taking into account only the physical components (conservatively assuming the Motherboard 40mm thick), ignoring wires, cooling equipment and the actual case itself, the shuttle as it stands has 43% of it’s internal volume filled.
The proposed model has 39.5%, so the primary check works.
Of course, I need to fit them in still, and wood is a lot bulkier then aluminium.
The DVD drive is giving me problems as it’s 180mm long before rear connections. I’ve opened it up and don’t think it can be shortened easily. Can you mount ordinary DVD drives vertically? Clearly the tray would need some modification…
Phew. And if you read that lot I thank you.
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Originally Posted by progbuddy
